1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates in general to denatured liquefied-gas aerosol dusting compositions. In particular, the present disclosure relates to liquefied-gas aerosol dusting compositions containing denatonium benzoate.
2. Description of Related Art
Liquefied-gas aerosol dusters provide a safe, useful, convenient, and economically efficient means of cleaning dust and debris from hard to reach places, where it can be harmful or detrimental. This can be especially true for the multitude of electronic equipment used today, where small foreign particles can render expensive equipment inoperable or shorten its useful life. These aerosol dusters provide an easily available source of pressurized gas that can be used to remove such debris. Packaged in appropriately designed aerosol cans, the liquefied gas and aerosol package components can be chosen so as to deliver a pressurized burst of gas in a preferred cleaning pattern. The aerosol valve and actuator can be configured to deliver the appropriate amount of gas at the right pressure in a range from broad to pinpoint spray patterns. Using liquefied gases provides an ample supply of material for a large number of cleaning tasks in a compact package.
The manufacturer and supplier of these products expend significant resources and energy toward good product stewardship with goals of providing products that are safe when used as intended. Thus, these duster products provide a safe and valuable function to the consumer, but sometimes are involved in inhalation abuse incidents, like numerous other consumer products.
The primary weapon in battling these dangerous practices continues to be education to raise awareness of the potential consequences. There are, however, other opportunities to discourage such practices with product design or product control. One such approach is to incorporate a denaturant in the aerosol duster that can be detected in an abuse scenario, but undetectable when duster products are used as recommended. Denaturants considered included, for example, bitter almond oil, eucalyptol, menthol, thymol, vinegar, and denatonium benzoate.
Denatonium benzoate is an acutely bitter substance that can be detected by human taste at concentrations as low as 50 ppb. Thus denatonium benzoate can be used as a denaturant. For example, Davies et al. disclosed a liquefied petroleum gas composition containing denatonium benzoate in European Patent Number EP 0 884 377.
However, when the concentration of denatonium benzoate in the liquefied-gas aerosol dusting composition is too high, the denatonium benzoate can interfere with normal product use. When the concentration of denatonium benzoate in the liquefied-gas aerosol dusting composition is too low, it becomes ineffective as a deterrent to accidental or intentional misuses.
There is a need for a liquefied-gas aerosol dusting composition with a bittering additive agent that does not interfere with normal product use but is detectable in an inhalation abusive scenario so as to potentially discourage the practice.